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Samantha Bee Says Her “Feckless C--t” Apology Was Not Meant for Right-Wing Critics

“There is literally nothing that I can do to please loud voices on the right, and I don’t expect to try anytime soon,” the Full Frontal host said. “It really wasn’t for them. I don’t really care what they think of me.”

Remember that time Samantha BeecalledIvanka Trump a “feckless cunt,” during a segment in which Bee criticized Trump’s father for a horrifying policy about separating migrant families at the border—and the whole conversation somehow became about the comedian’s language? The Full Frontal host does—and her only regret about her comment remains the way that talk about her word choice seemed to overshadow what her segment was actually trying to say. As for those who say she shouldn’t have apologized at all, the comedian wants to make one thing clear: the apology was not intended to mollify those on the right.

Speaking with the Daily Beast, Bee echoed the sentiment she expressed during her on-air apology this past spring, saying that she mainly regrets how the kerfuffle distracted from the real issue at hand. As for those who don’t think she should have apologized?

“The apology was not offered to the right,” Bee said. “It was not offered as a concession to their demands, at all. It was offered in a very specific manner, and I don’t regret putting it out there. I think it was the right thing to do.”

“There is literally nothing that I can do to please loud voices on the right, and I don’t expect to try anytime soon,” Bee continued. “It really wasn’t for them. I don’t really care what they think of me. A lot of the loudest voices that came out to speak about me should be embarrassed by their own conduct these days. I could not give a single fuck what they think of me. And why should I? You can’t make a comedy show that pleases everyone, nor should you ever try. You cannot make a decent or good comedy product by assessing everyone’s opinions and going straight down the middle. You have to have a point of view these days.”

For opinionated female comedians, however, right-wing outrage can often be an occupational hazard. Michelle Wolf, for instance, faced a firestorm after her fiery White House Correspondents’ Association dinner speech. When asked about Wolf’s recently canceled Netflix program, The Break, as well as Robin Thede’s late-night show getting canceled by BET, Bee said she found the news disheartening—praising both Wolf and Thede, as well as their shows.

“I assume that other networks are fighting to rehire them,” Bee said. “If I was a network executive, that’s what I’d be doing—trying to get them to come to me and make a show, no question. And you have to take time as a network to develop things. If it’s not working for you in the time slot or whatever, you have to give a show more than 10 episodes to find its legs.”

Critics who decried The Break’s cancellation at Netflix noted that it was particularly hasty; the series aired for only 10 episodes before Netflix announced it would not be renewed for more. Thede had a little more time—her season lasted for 24 episodes—but that’s still a fairly paltry allotment. As we’ve seen with other late-night hosts, such as Stephen Colbert, when he took over The Late Show, it can take quite some time for any comedian, no matter how seasoned, to find a groove. Once they do, as CBS has seen, the payoff can be undeniable.

“It’s brutal,” Bee said of the cancellations. “Shows need time to find their audience, and they need adequate advertising. They need adequate promotional pushes to make that happen; it’s just a fact. You can’t just plunk something down, leave it alone, and expect it to grow. It’s impossible.”

As the Daily Beast’s Matt Wilstein pointed out during his conversation with Bee, Full Frontal is another example of a show that was given enough time and space to find itself—a vote of confidence Bee called essential. Regardless, the comedian seemed confident that both Wolf and Thede will land on their feet. After all, “There’s no way that you could take that many talented people and set them adrift and have them not find an island to climb up on and make something even better.”